The state government in North Rhine-Westphalia is now demanding over US$ 92 million in subsidies and interest after claiming that Nokia failed to meet its condition of creating a minimum number of jobs before closing its factory in Bochum, Germany. According to the state, the Finland-based company borrowed US$ 63 million to build the factory. For more details, check out the full article.

In case you are from Europe and are planning to buy a new mobile phone, you may want hold that thought for a bit and wait for the launch of Nokia 6650, the latest mobile from the Finland-based company exclusively for T-Mobile subscribers. Know more after the jump!

Here's some news from Finland, home of mobile phone giant Nokia. The company has announced that its N81 and N81 GB smartphones have shipped and are now available globally. The N81 carries an estimated retail price of €360 (US$ 509). The N81 8GB is expected to retail for €430 (US$ 608).

"Today people want to be more in control of how and where they consume their digital entertainment," said Jonas Geust, Nokia's vice president of multimedia. "They want to discover new favorites and share them without being confined to one location - and it's devices like the Nokia N81 that facilitate this."

Both N81 and N81 8GB come equipped with dedicated music and game keys for those who like to play and listen to music on the go. Users can either upload their own digital content or check out tracks from the Nokia Music Store. Both the N81 and the N81 8GB also come with a preview of the new N-Gage game service as well as playable demos of some N-Gage titles.

Nokia Corporation sends out word that shipping for the mobile phone/multimedia computer N95 8GB has already begun. Consumers in Europe and select countries in the Middle East and Africa get a bonus treat as the mobile phone comes with several Spider-Man goodies.

N95 8GB reportedly comes pre-loaded with a full Spider-Man 3 movie complete with ten languages and subtitle combinations. Aside from that, Nokia also included unique Spider-Man 3 message and ring tones, wallpaper, and screensaver.

This has been made possible by the recent partnership between the Finland-based phone maker and Sony Pictures. "Pre-loading a film with such fantastic special effects truly shows off the device's advanced capabilities. With its ground-breaking features, users can now fully appreciate the meaning of entertainment on-the-go," said Nokia Senior VP for Multimedia Experiences Ilkka Raiskinen.

Some of N95 8GB's features are as follows:

• Sleek black cover
• 8GB internal memory
• Large 2.8 inch QVGA display
• Superior speakers
• Full multimedia use of the two-way slide design
• Dedicated media keys allow users to control video as they would on DVD: play, pause, fast forward and rewind

Before getting rid of your old mobile phone for a new one, you may consider doing this as a farewell ritual to your old phone: throwing it away. Literally.

In Savonlinna, Finland, mobile phone throwing is actually a local event. Contestants to the mobile phone abuse-a-thon engage in various activities such as mobile phone juggling and phone throwing.

For some of the participants, mobile phone juggling is actually an artistic endeavor. Taco Cohen, a contestant hailing from the Netherlands, used his training as a circus performer to nab the freestyle gold medal in the event. When asked about how it is to juggle cellular phones, he said, "Juggling I have done for many years with balls. (But) these are irregular shapes and weights, it is difficult."

Another contestant, Tommi Houtari, added his impression on the mobile phone-throwing event. "I have never thrown a phone before but have been participating in potato-throwing ... surprisingly, a potato flies further."

The strange (yet possibly cathartic) activity has drawn a large crowd from other countries such as Canada, US, and some neighboring European countries.

The make or model of the phones used in the event were not disclosed.

THQ announced that it has acquired Finland-based mobile game development studio Universomo Ltd. THQ's mobile offerings will be bolstered by Universomo's proprietary game development environment and automated porting solution which supports all major mobile platforms, a key component in THQ's growth strategy.

Kelly Flock, THQ's executive vice president of worldwide publishing, said that Universomo's development skills and porting solution will enable new technology efficiencies for THQ Wireless, giving the company the "scalability to focus on building ... cornerstone brands and new, owned properties across Europe, Asia and North America."

"THQ's global publishing footprint and leading brand portfolio made them a natural fit for Universomo," said Universomo's marketing director Markku Hakkala. "The easy integration of Universomo's development and technology means that we are on track to take full advantage of continued market growth opportunities worldwide."

With their next generation N-Gage mobile gaming service to be piloted from February 2007 to mid 2007, Nokia and Elisa will be providing options for mobile gamers to search, buy and play quality and innovative mobile games on Nokia's mobile gaming platform service. All this is in preparation for the commercial launch of the next N-Gage mobile gaming platform this year.

Elisa, a telecommunications services giant from Finland, has both the broad resources and connections to spur the pilot to success. They have the best potential and drive to provide mobile gamers the content they need, through many available service options.

The N-Gage platform will be integrated with the mobile gaming service platform from Elisa to fulfill this need. Mikko Mattinen, Head of Consumer Customer Products at Elisa, reassuringly said - "Our goal is to give our customers a new and unique experience they cannot get anywhere else."

The full launch of the gaming service will take off after the pilot, also in mid 2007. Comprehensive testing and performance evaluation will be conducted locally in Finland to ensure quality service on a live network environment.

Ultimately, the service will not only be limited to the N-Gage platform, because it will be available for an entire range of Nokia mobile devices. Elisa will provide portals, in addition to the N-Gage platform service, to offer mobile gaming services on Nokia devices.

So for all those gamers on the go, the new service and team-up should be a boost to revive the N-Gage platform. Better make some room on your phones, because great games of the mobile industry will be making its way to you soon.

We can't let consoles and handhelds have all the what-to-expect-for-2007 fun. Mobile games are also sporting their 2007 expectations. Website Pocketgamer just mentioned 10 mobile games trends for 2007. The past year has been really good for mobile gaming with the release of games like The Sims 2 Pets and Lego Star Wars II, and the opening of the Konami download service for your mobiles.

So what could be the possible gaming mobile trends that we could expect this 2007? Well, one of them is advertising-supported games. Apparently a lot of game publishers are looking for ways to lower the cost of making mobile games while a lot of advertisers are looking for cheaper ways to market their products. Marry the two and voila, you've got a win-win situation, if everything goes as planned.

Another trend that they spotted to be big is the next-generation Nokia N-Gage. Arguably, the gaming community didn't welcome the N-gage with open arms, but that doesn't stop the Finland-based company from doing it again. Apparently, the games will be on 3D and will boast connected and community features, and will be purchasable directly from your handset.

Those are just some of them trends. Click on the read link below to check out all the 10 mobile games trends for 2007.

Mobile phone company giant Nokia just put an end to rumors circulating for some time now that they are re-entering the games market. What's the real deal? Nokia is indeed resurrecting the dead! And while their tag line remains "Connecting people," they are hell bent to disconnect Nintendo and Sony from their handheld fan base.

"There’s going to reach a point where we and other handheld platform owners are battling for the same partners and the same consumers," disclosed Nokia UK and Ireland Head of Games Martin O’Driscoll. The official then confirmed that established publishers and developers have already signed up to produce content for their new Nseries phones and S60 software.

If this is the case, it seems that the Finland-based company has learned from its previous mistakes. O'Driscoll continued, "We’re moving into a new competitive space, where we have a real attractive offering for the games consumer. These are no longer just casual games. They are real games played by real gamers."

Accordingly, Nokia conducted a previous survey about worldwide mobile gaming habits. The study also revealed that the community will play a vital role for mobile gaming's future developments. The new series of mobile phones will be released early next year. And as to how much these phones would cost, O'Driscoll unwittingly commented,

The consumer will have to make a decision: does he wants a standalone gaming device with a limited browsing capability or a phone with an MP3 player, a camera and a bloody good games platform? I think consumers will be prepared to spend £300 (US$ 586) on a phone that offers all those different things rather than £100 to £150 for a stand alone games machine.

SIL, the latest puzzler from global games publisher Telcogames, brought home the Best Mobile Game Award in the 2006 Forum Nokia PRO Awards last night.

SIL is a 3D silhouette matching puzzle game available for all Smartphone devices. It is also available for download on the PC and is currently launching across carriers and non-carriers globally. This puzzler, developed in Finland by the Telcogames' award-winning Fathammer development studio, has already generated buzz in the puzzle market with its clever innovative gameplay, simple and intuitive controls and its pure addictive nature.

Enda Carey, Managing Director, Central publishing, said, "I'm thrilled Sil has achieved this award, it's a true testament to the success of our development studio's and the talent of the individuals behind them."

The Nokia PRO Awards gives recognition to leading mobile applications, content and services successfully deployed in markets all around the world and developed by members of Nokia's advanced global developer program.